WESTFIELD-As the holiday season fast approaches, a first time “Stuff the Truck” food drive is planned by Project New Hope, Inc. at the Hampton Ponds Plaza to benefit local military families.
“This is our first time doing a food drive and we are praying for a huge success,” said AnnMarie Baxter, office administrator for Project New Hope’s Westfield office.
A “Stuff the Truck” food drive to benefit local military families will help replenish the shelves at Project New Hope at the Hampton Ponds Plaza. (ANNMARIE BAXTER PHOTO)
The food drive is slated for Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Hampton Ponds Market, 1029 North Road.
“We will have a van wrapped with our logo and Bill Moore, founder of Project New Hope, Inc., will also be here to thank donors,” said Baxter.
Project New Hope, Inc. was founded by Moore, a United State Air Force disabled veteran, who served as a crash rescue firefighter before being injured and discharged honorably with a service connected disability. After attending a weekend retreat in 2010 with Project New Hope of Minnesota, he established his own independent 501 (c) 3 nonprofit in Massachusetts in 2011.
Moore still serves as president and CEO in a voluntary position.
Baxter noted the Westfield office serves families with its food pantry and baby pantry.
“Last month we served over 300 military families,” said Baxter, noting that grants and donations are used to purchase food.
“We work with grocery stores and we have one woman who is an extreme couponer who is always looking for items that are on sale to fill our shelves for our veterans.”
Baxter, who works with her brother, Tom Lamica, Project New Hope’s outreach coordinator, said their focus for the food drive is to collect items that would be used for holiday meals.
“We’ve seen an increase in the need for food among our military families, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Baxter. “We rely on donations throughout the year and with many having to scale back their own spending, we have seen our donations decrease.”
A wide variety of holiday items are being sought for the food drive, from stuffing mix, chicken and turkey broth, cranberry sauce, and cake and brownie mixes, to cans of gravy, corn, yams, pumpkin, peas and carrots.
Food drive items also needed include canned fruit, soups, diced tomatoes, and instant potato, as well as shelf stable milk, canned tuna or canned chicken, peanut butter and jelly. Breakfast items in particular are also welcome and include oatmeal, cereal, Pop Tarts, pancake mix and pancake syrup.
“We also can use pasta sauces, ravioli, black beans, kidney beans, baked beans, crackers, Hamburger Helper, Rice A Roni sides, pasta and noodles,” said Baxter.
For more information on any of the local programs of Project New Hope, Inc., contact Baxter or Lamica at (413) 315-3873 or send an email to [email protected].
Baxter said being involved with Project New Hope has been rewarding on several fronts.
“My father served in the Army and my brother served in the Air Force,” said Baxter. “I have always gravitated to working with nonprofits and when Tom got involved with Project New Hope I knew I also wanted to reach out and see what I could do. We do this because we believe in this mission to give back to the men and women who sacrifice and serve our country.”
